Topic Guide: The Greenhouse Effect

 

In this activity you will form groups, conduct research into greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect, and report back to your lab section in the form of a presentation. At the end of this activity you will find suggestions for the format of the presentation. You will use the data you investigate as evidence for your statements. Please use these suggestions and the ÒHow to make a class presentationÓ as guidelines for your presentation.

 

Overview:

The greenhouse effect is responsible for warming the earth by about 330C.  Without it, the earth would be covered in ice. This effect depends strongly on concentration of "greenhouse gasesÓ in the atmosphere. The sources and sinks of these gases is the subject of intense research by climate scientists. It is vital that we understand whether human activities are modifying the greenhouse effect or modifying other processes that control the balance of atmospheric greenhouse gases. Many scientists warn us that success or failure to understand these processes could have serious consequences for the life on our planet. What do you think?

 

Key processes and concepts to review before beginning:

 

Resources:

 

The greenhouse effect is a phrase that describes how water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases in the atmosphere aid in the maintenance of the Earth's surface temperature

 

After completing this investigation you should be able to:

  1. Know the concentrations and importance of various greenhouse gases
  2. Understand the importance of the greenhouse effect on climate
  3. Understand energy flux diagrams and how greenhouse gases affect the energy balance of the climate system 

 

Background information:

Browse the links listed below to answer the questions posed below. You will not have time to read all of the resources in detail, but be sure to browse them sufficiently so that you can find the information for later review and your position papers. Be sure that you save some time to explore the data on various web sites. You may wish to assign various members of your group to different questions.

 

Review of Global Warming:

http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/index.html (this is a great site)

http://www.globalwarming.org/glossary.htm

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/globalwarming/greeneffect.html

http://www.agu.org/eos_elec/99148e.html

http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/emissions/index.html

 

Greenhouse gases:

http://www.ec.gc.ca/pdb/ghg/ghg_home_e.cfm

http://www.yourplanet.org/terms/details.php3?term=Greenhouse+Gases

 

 

What are the principal greenhouse gases? Where do they come from (sources) and where do they eventually go (sinks)?

  Gases:

  Sources

  Sinks:

 

 

 

Answer these questions for your presentation:

 

  1. Why do these gases cause greenhouse warming?
  2. How do the greenhouse gases act to affect the climate?
  3. What is the general trend in the concentration of these greenhouses gases for the last 150 years?
  4. The concentration of which greenhouse gases have increased in the last 100 years or so due to human activity?
  5. What specific activities have caused these gases to increase?
  6. What is the general trend in the concentration of these greenhouses gases for the last 150 years?

http://asd-www.larc.nasa.gov/erbe/components2.gif

  1. How does the increase in greenhouse gases affect the Earth's energy budget?

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/index.html#gases

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/other_gases.html#hydro

http://www.mct.gov.br/clima/ingles/convencao/guia.htm

  1. What are engineered gases?
  2. What are CFCs? Are they covered under the Kyoto Protocol?
  3. Why does the CFC graph only show an increase from approximately 1950 on?
  4. Why were PFCs developed?
  5. Do PFCs have an adverse affect on ozone? What is the problem with PFCs?

 

Albedo

http://zebu.uoregon.edu/1998/es202/l13.html

http://www-cger.nies.go.jp/grid-e/gridtxt/grid7.html

http://www.eumetsat.de/en/area2/cgms/ap4-08.htm

http://stress.swan.ac.uk/~mbarnsle/research/brdf.htm

 

  1. What role do clouds play on solar heating?
  2. What are several of the variables that affect albedo?
  3. How does albedo affect the amount of incoming radiation that is reflected back into space?
  4. What effect does changing albedo have on the Earth's climate?
  5. How do dimethylsulphide (DMS) emissions from the ocean affect cloud formation?

http://me-www.jrc.it/

 

Background information: Please take some time to learn more about the background information available for the topic of greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect. If you learn something new and interesting, please share it with the lab in your presentation.

 

http://www.science.gmu.edu/~zli/ghe.html

http://www.mct.gov.br/clima/ingles/convencao/guia.htm

 

Information for your Earth Summit country:

http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/emissions/international/index.html

International greenhouse gas emissions website

 

Presentation Framework

Your presentation should include a brief overview explaining the significance of greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect and how studies of greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect relate to climatic issues of today. You should then choose as many of the following topics as is necessary to explain the concept. Choose topics that you think might be relevant to understanding climate change. Your presentation should include interesting findings from your investigations, backed up with data. You must use the physical data in your presentation.

You may choose from the following list of topics, or investigate a topic of your own. The topics in the list are examples of investigations that could be made using the data available at the URLÕs listed above.

 

Data driven topics:  

 

Overview type topics:

 

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